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VVIP Visits: Hindering Disaster Relief
Unpopular opinion: VVIPs visiting sites of accidents and natural disasters is counterproductive. It looks good on cameras but it actually hurts relief and rescue. VVIP visits distract officials, who, instead of doing relief and rescue, have to:...
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Being Comfortable in Misery
During my IPS training, one day, a fellow trainee who was also a college-mate, told me: “In my last job (before IPS), I once wrote a software...
The Morning Routine Advantage
In 2017, my startup was burning cash and time was running out. Changing the direction of the company was like trying to move a gigantic ship -- it...
Finding Joy in the Journey
In my 2nd year at IIT, I started learning Taekwondo. I somehow took fancy to the idea of becoming a black-belt. Maybe, I saw too many martial arts...
The Impact of a Strong Beginning
In my life, the only major career goal for which I had to truly struggle was getting into IIT. IIT made getting into Civil Services so much more...
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The Rewards of Sacrifice
In my last job as a private equity investor, I came across many Indian entrepreneurs whose parents set up the business from scratch. I remember one entrepreneur in the medical devices space, whose mother used to go wait outside doctors' offices for...
The value of being at the bottom
The most valuable lesson I learned at McKinsey was NOT making presentations or structured thinking, as valuable as they were. The best lesson was the experience of being at the bottom of an organization. Before my MBA, I was running a 3,500 strong...
What is meaningful writing?
I was once talking to a lawyer, who was a partner at a law firm in London. I asked him, 'How challenging is it to be a good lawyer?' He said, 'Anybody can write a contract or a legal document but writing a really good one is very hard. A good...
The power of communication beyond accents
During my MBA, McKinsey once visited our campus for a pre-placement talk. One of their consultants who addressed us was a South American with a very heavy Spanish accent. He joked saying, "Whenever people tell me that I don't have an American...